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The Capitol of 

Virginia 



and the 



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Confederate 
States. 



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Historical 



and 

Descriptive. 



\. 



The Capitol of Virginia 



The Confederate States: 



BEING A DESCRIPTIVE AND HISTORICAL 



CATALOGUE 



Public Square and Buildings, and of the Statuary, 
Paintings and Curios Therein. 



BY 



\V. W. SCOTT AND W. G. STANARD. 



RICHMOND: \^,^ ^^p 

James E. Goode, Printer. ^<£^a8M^„„^ 

1894. /g3^7-^ 

^7-. J. <Uy, 



Copyright, 1S94. 

By 

W. W. So^TT and AV. G. Staxard. 



PREFATORY. 



Some will say that this little book does not rise to the dignity of a preface. 
We, who have prepared it, cannot agree with them. There are some words of 
courtesy to be written, certain acknowledgments of obligation to be made, that 
can be expressed so well no where else, nor in any other manner. Hence the 
preface. 

In some measure it has been a work of compilation ; but by no means alto- 
gether so. 

To two pamphlets of the late Colonel Sherwin McRae, long the accom- 
plished Librarian in charge : to the researches of R. A. Brock, Esq., the 
scholarly Secretary of the Southern Historical Society ("Virginia and Vir- 
ginians ■'); to the uniform courtesy and wide and accurate information of Dr. 
William P. Palmer and Dr. B. W. Green; and to the well and widely- 
known Artist, Mr. W. L. Sheppard, we owe much. And we very cheerfully 
acknon-iedge it. To mention such names as these in our preface, as our advisers, 
oughl to be a sufficient " Letter of Credit" to our Catalogue. 

^\'t we have made careful investigations of our own, and have endeavored 
to -pi'tve all things," and to state nothing categorically except on excellent 
aufi rity. 

A' hat follows then is not a mere casting together of odds and ends, picked 
up ii*^ r;indom of the fruits of other people's labors; but a statement, in brief it 
is irue, of facts that have been verified with care and diligence — facts, too, that 
ilhi«.strate, and, for the most part, illuminate the history of Virginia. 

There was need of such a work. We hope the "long-felt want " will be felt 
no longer, but that this little book will fultill its purpose in supplying it. 
I KiCHMOND, Va., 1894. 



THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA. 



ViRCiixiA is the oldest permanent English set- 
tlement in America. 

Earlier attempts to found a Colony had l)een 
made — notahly one at Roanoke Island, Xorth 
Carolina, then also called Virginia — but they 
had all been disastrous failures ; the fate of this 
settlement at Roanoke Island remaining one of 
the saddest and most mysterious tragedies in 

lii^(..iy. 

( apiain John Smith, heading a new adventure, 
and still hoping to find the colonists left at 
'^'anoke Island, was driven bj'^ adverse winds 

the ^'^irginia Capes and thence to the mouth 
I the river Powhatan, which he named 

.lames'* river in honor of the reigning 
sovereign. Sailing up this river, he landed with 
his "adventurers" at Jamestown on the 13th 
ilay of ^Tay, 1607, and eflfected the settlement 
which expanded into Virginia. 

Tlie churter under which this settlement was 
made, was dated April 10, 1606, just two hun- 
dred and lifty-nine years, to a day, before Appo- 
mattox. 'I'he adventurers sailed from England 
in December of that year, and landed on the 
banks of '"\e James the following 31ay. 

Th( ] •' irs of the colony, under the charter 

fined within reasonable boundaries 

.. : !L and south, extended east and west 

" from s4a to sea ; " but the westward territorial 

bounda) r never extended in fact beyond the 

Ni'ississippi river. 

The n.ime ^'Ohl Dominioti " is said to have 

•en bef-towed upon the State because of her 
loyal adherence to the royal family after the 
tragic eud of Charles I and the supremacy of 
Cromwall : whence, on the restoration of Charles 
IT. her arms were quartei'ed with those of the 
< aim aii'l the motto added, En dat Virginia 
7'((//7o)</f^"' Behold Virginia gives the fourth." 
Howe a<lopts this explanation, and Esten Cooke 
ratifies i't. The historical truth about this name, 
lii»wev«T. <et'ms to be the plain and simple fact 



that ^'irginia was the oldest dominion of the 
crown of England in the new world — though 
the explanation given above has been generally 
accepted, probably because of its flavor of 
romance. Certain it is that as early as April, 
1622, which was eight years before Charles 
II was born, the Rev. Patrick Copland 
preached a thanksgiving sermon in London for 
"good newes from Virginia," in wliich he said : 
" for en dat Virginia quintam is the motto of the 
legal scale of Virginia." At the Westmoreland 
Club rooms, in this city, there is a very fine 
steel engraving of Queen Elizabeth, which was 
made in 1632, and engraved, no doubt, from a 
porti'ait of an earlier date, for she died in 1603. 
On this engraving is the legend : Seretm»ima ac 
Potenii.mma Princeps Elisahet, D. G., Angliae, 
Franciae, Hiberniae et Yirginiae Regina — "The 
High and Mighty Princess Elizabeth, by the 
grace of God, Queen of England, France, Ire- 
land and Virginia." Tliis ought to dispose of 
the myth as to the fanciful origin of tlie name 
"Old Dominion," and establish the fact that 
Virginia is so called because she is the oldest 
English dominion in the " new found land." 

In striking contrast with theboa.st of "loyalty 
to royalty " of that date is the subsequent and 
continuing coat-of-arms adopted when she was 
herself clothed upon with sovereignty — a woman 
with her foot upon the prostrate body of a king, 
and the ringing legend — Sic Semper Ti/rannis. 
The Capital Cities. 

Jamestown was the first seat of government, 
and remained the capital for quite a number of 
years. Xatiiaxiei. Bacox, the first " Rebel " of 
glorious memory in Virginia, burned the town 
because of the treachery of Sir William Berke- 
ley, the Royal Governor, in 1676 — say one hun- 
dred years before Washington began his rebel- 
lion. 

Only a picturesque and historic ruin now 
mai'ks the site of Virginia's ancient capital. 

What was then kn^»wn as " Middle Planta- 
tion " — afterwards and now called Williams- 



HISTORICAL. 



BURG — distant about seven miles from James- 
town and fifty from Kichmond, became the seat 
of government in 1G90, and a noble old town it 
was in the palmj^ days of the colonial regime, if 
all accounts of it be but half true ! Here the 
capital remained till 1779, the " CoUedge of Wil- 
liam and IMary " being the place of meeting of 
the House of Burgesses until a capitol could be 
built. But when the War of the Revolution 
became flagrant in the State, the government 
had to be removed higher up the river to avoid 
capture by the British, and in the year 1779 an 
act was passed for the removal of the si-at of 
govermiu'ut to 

Richmond. 

Colonel William liyi'd in iiis ".lonnu'V to the 
Land of Kilen " writi-s as follows: " Wlien we 
got home, we laid the foundations of two large 
Citys. One at Shacco's [Shockoe] to be called 
RiciisioxD, and the other at the Point of Appa- 
mattuck River, to be called Petersburg. * * * 
The truth of it is, these two places being the 
uppermost Landing of James and Appamattux 
Rivei^s, are naturally intended for ]Marts, where 
the Traffick of the Outer Inhabitants must Cen- 
ter. Thus we did not build Castles only, but 
also Citys in the Air." This was written in Sep- 
temlier, 17;>.'), whence must be dated the Founda- 
tion of the City — A. U. C, as was said of Rome. 

Shoekoe hill was selected (by statute of 1780), 
for tlie location of the capitol, and "his excel- 
lency, Thomas Jefferson, esquire, Archibald 
Cary, Robert Carter Nicholas, Richard Adams, 
Ednumd Randol})!), Turner Southall, Robert 
tioode, James Buchanan, and Samuel Du Vail, 
esquires," were named as Directors to lay ofi' the 
public grcjunds. 

By exi)ress terms of this statute, however, 
the directors were instructed, "because from 
the great expense attending the just and neces- 
sary war, the ditticulties of procuring materials 
for l)uilding, and the* high price for labour, it 
would be Inirthensome to the inhabitants if the 
l)ublic buildings were immediately erecte<l, with 
all convenient speed to cause to l)e erected, or 
otherwise provide some proper and temporary 
bviildings for the sitting of the General 
Assembly." 

Mr. Jefferson attended two meetings of the 
directors in 1780, and one in 1782. After that 
time he seems to have been a consulting or 
advising member only, as these two extracts 
ft-om a summary of the "Journal of the Direc- 
tors" (never before published), will show : 



"February 22, 1785. Wm. Hay laid before 
directors a plan which ^Ir. Dobie is appointed 
to complete, to be transmitted to ]Mr. Jeflerson, 
who is to be requested to cause a suitable plan 
to be executed and forwarded without delay, 
and AV. Hay and E. Randolph to prepare a 
letter to him." 

"May 29, 1787. Letter from ]\Ir. Hay to 3Ir. 
Jefferson, acknowledging receipt of the ^Nlodell." 

One other extract, date 1791 : 

"The council appoint Will. Foushee, Dan'l 
L. Hylton, and Alex. Montgomery, Directors, 
in room of Arch'd Cary, deceased, Ed. Ran- 
dolph, removed, and Jacq. Ambler, resigned." 

The name Robt. ^Mitchell is also signed to one 
of the latest reports of the directors. 

In the ninth volume of Hening's Statutes, 
page 221, is found this caption, being the record 
of the first legislation at Richmond : 
AT A 
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 

HEGIX AND HKLD 

At the })ublic buildings in the town of Rich- 
mond, on Monday, the first day of May, in the 
year of our Lord 1780, and in the fourth year 
of the Commonwealth. 

These " public buildings" are thus spoken of 
by Little : ' ' The capitol stood on the upper side 
of Pearl (now Fourteenth) street, extending 
down to Car}- ; it was a large, clumsy looking 
wooden building without anything to mark it. 
Had it been a building of any note as to size or 
beauty, it would have lieen burnt . when the 
British under Arnold entered Richmond. 
Probaljly they were unable to discover where 
the Virginia legislature sat, and judging from 
a])pearance esteemed the building tc, be some 
old warehouse." 

The Capitol Squai ? 

It is not im])robable that the ( ;.i;ol Si|uare 
was once the pro])erty of Nathan- 1 Bacon. 
Little says : " Bacon*s ijlantation -M'l near the 
Branch bearing his name (Bai<.n"> (Quarter 
Branch), and extended over SliK.coe Hill. 
Colonel Byrd possessed the lower !>::rt of the 
town." As Bacon's estates were ci ufiscated 
after his "Rebellion," this would bsj hard to 
verify now ; so Virginians nmst bf con knit with 
the statement of probability, and tha. it ought 
to be true in the "eternal fitness of tl ings. " 

An error has got abroad that the S(]iian^ was 
given to the State : some allege >> Colonel 
William Byrd, of Westover, with re\ ersi..u to 
his heirs, and both Little and Howe ■'tate that 



HISTORICAL. 



the land was given. The "Journal of the 
■ ' 'Ctors ' ' proves the contrary. Condemna- 
) was provided for by the statute directing 
purchase of the land, and the "Journal" 
. the word "confiscate" (in the technical 
sense of condemn) in connection with the acqui- 
sition of the S |uare ; and recent investigation 
made by direction of Governor Kemper proves 
c;onclusively that every foot of it was acquired 
by purchase or condemnation. 

Anyone looking at the square now, with its 
graceful undulations, its wealth of greensward, 
its minature forest of shade trees, its graded 
walks, ornamental fountains and works of 
art, will deem it a strange thing that consider- 
ably less than one hundred years ago it was only 
a gravelly hillside, furrowed with gulleys ; that 
patches of broomstraw, stunted pines, chinque- 
l)in bushes, thistles and Jamestown weeds di- 
^'ersified its surface where it was not entirely 
bare ; and that it was about as unkemi)t and 
unattractive a "park" as could well be imagined. 

The buildings on it, except the Capitol, were 
plain, wooden structures, unpainted and unat- 
tractive in eveiy sense. The Capitol itself, not 
then stuccoed, exposed its bare, brick walls 
between the columns or pilasters. On each side 
of it was a long horse rack, for the convenience 
of the public. The portico was reached by a 
narrow, winding stairway which gave the kids 
and goats convenient access to it, where they 
found shelter in wet weather : and the grounds 
immediately around the old barracks "were 
bedecked with the shirts of the soldiers and the 
chemises of their wives, which flaunted on 
clothes lines, and pigs, poultry and children 
enlivened ihe scene." 

The grounds were originally laid off by ^lons. 
Codefroi, >i French gentleman of skill, but 
somewhat formal taste, into terraces, plateaus, 
&c. Later, a Mr. Notman, of Philadelphia, 
conformed them more to the modern taste, 
which, ge|iicrally speaking, is the natural land- 
scape. Certain it is that the square is now 
admired oi' all beholders ; and especially in the 
warmer months, when animate with little 
children feeding the squirrels, the grass all as 
green as an emerald, it is as refreshing to the 
visitor as is "the shadow of a great rock in a 
weary land..'" 

Every tr.i'e in the square has been planted, 
nor is the^e a single "primeval oak" on the 
grounds. 

The squirrels introduced in recent years have 
fallen in love with their environment, and are 



as much admired as the English sparrows are 
despised. 

The Executive Mansion. 

The " ( rovernor's House" was the old-time 
appellation of what is now i-alled the Executive 
Mansion. 

The original house, jjreceding the present 
one, was a very plain, wooden building of two 
stories, with only two moderate sized rooms on 
the first floor. It was for many years uncon- 
scious of paint, and the furniture was in keep- 
ing with the republican' simplicity of the edi- 
fice, and of its occupants, from Henry and 
Jefferson down to Monroe and Page. The palings 
around the yard were usually in a dilapidated 
conditi(jn, and the goats that sported on the 
steep hillsides of the Capitol square claimed 
and exercised the liberty of grazing in his 
Excellency's grounds. 

"The old residence of the Governors of Vir- 
ginia," says Mordecai, whom we have quoted 
liberally as to " the antiquities," " might usually 
have boasted that if it had in itself no claims to 
distinction, its occupants had many." 

The present mansion was occupied first by 
James Barbour, Governor from 1811 to 1815. 
The house on the corner of Ninth and Mar- 
shall, opposite Chief Justice Marshall's old 
residence, was at one time- occupied as the 
Governor's House. 

The Old Museum and State Courthouse. 

In 1815 the Legislature granted to James 
Warrell the right to build a Museum on the 
public grounds, and it was accordingly erected 
on the southeast corner of the Square. It proved 
a dismal failure as a museum, and was soon 
pulled down and a State Courthouse erected 
near the site of it. This was burned down 
in the conflagration of Apinl, 1865, and along 
with it were consumed its priceless contents of 
Colonial and Council records, many of the 
County records having been sent there also, for 
safe-keeping during the war. It is said that 
only a single article of its furniture was saved. 
The son of the janitor rushed in while the 
building was aflame, and l)rought out an old 
water pitcher which is still preserved at the 
room of the i)resent Court of Appeals. 

The New Library Building. 

This building was begun in ISIKJ, and when 
completed will be occupied by the Library, the 
Court of Appeals, and most of the Executive 
officers of the State. 



"^♦i 



HISTORICAL. 



The area of the Square, including the lot on 
which the Executive Mansion stands, is about 
twelve acres. It extends twelve feet beyond 
the enclosure on all four sides. 

The Capitol. 

Thomas .Tefferson wrote of it as follows : " I 
was written to in 1785 (l)ehig then in Paris) by 
directors appointed to sui)erintend tlie building 
of a Capitol in Richmond, to advise them as to 
a plan. Thinking it a favourable opportunity 
of introducing into the State an example of 
architecture in the classic style of antiquity, 
and the Maison (iuarree of Nismes, an ancient 
Roman Temple, being considered as the most 
perfect model existing of what may be called 
cubic ai-chitecture, I applied to M. Clerissault, 
who had published drawings of the antiquities 
of Nismes, to have me a model of the building 
made in stucco, only changing the order from 
Corinthian to Ionic on account of the difficulty 
of Corinthian capitals. I yielded with reluc- 
tance to the taste of Clerissault in his prefer- 
ence of the modern capital of Scamozzi to the 
more noble capital of antiquity. To adapt the 
extei-ior to our use, I drew a plan for the inte- 
terior with the apartments necessary for legis- 
lative, executive, and judiciary purposes, and 
accommodated in their size and distribution to 
the form and dimensions of the building. These 
were forwarded to the directors in 1786, and 
were carried into execution, with some varia- 
tions not for the better ; the most important of 
which, however, admit of future correction." 

The model sent by him is still in the Library, 
in excellent preservation, and looks like a minia- 
ture of the Cajiitol, with very slight variations. 
Mr. Jefferson lets us know what he thought 
of the building after which it was modeled, for 
he says in another letter: "Here I am gazing 
whole hours at the liaison Quarree like a lover 
at his mistress. " 

The corner-stone of the Capitol was laid 
August 18th, 1785. The Legislature convened 
in it October 19th, 1789, and as the building 
was not then completed, it is not unlikely that 
it chose to christen it on the anniversary of the 
surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, wiiicli 
occurred exactly eight years before, and of the 
surrender of Burgoyne to Gates — a citizen of 
Virginia — at Saratoga, on the 18th day of Octo- 
ber, 1779. 

The cost of the Capitol was about as follows : 
Twenty-five thousan<l seven hundred and sixty- 
one pounds prior to December, 1789. At that 



time four thousand pounds were appropriated 
for a "pediment roof" to be covered with lead. 
In 1790, fifteen hundred and sixty-two pounds, 
and in 1792, "eight hundred and eleven p<junds, 
six shillings and one penny half penny, and 
the further sum of two thousand pounds, with 
tlie debts due by Archibald Cary, dec'd, and 
INIoses Austin tt Co., when collected, for tiuLsli- 
ing inside the Capitol and erecting .■■lei)s and 
platforms." In 1794, one thousand doUarn, and 
in December, 1795, " not exceeding five thousand 
dollars for repairing or altering roof and for 
finishing said building" were approi»riatcd V)y 
the General Assembly, making an aggregate of 
about a hundred and twenty thousand dollars, 
excluding the "debts due," the amount of 
which cannot be ascertained. A pound in con- 
tinental currency was three and a third dollars. 

From various official manuscripts in the 
Library it appears that there was much trouble 
with the roof. This w^as first covered with lead, 
of which forty-one and a half tons one hundred 
and ninety -three i)Ounds were used ; and after- 
wards with slate. 

The old building is full of the echoes of a 
glorious past. The great Convention of '88 was 
held before it was finished, and sat in the 
" temporary building, " according to Little; in 
the Old Academy which stood near the site of 
the INIonumental Church according to Mordecai, 
whose statement is generally accepted as correct. 
Here, however, were debated and adopted the 
fiunous "Resolutions of 1798-99," drafted by 
James Madison as the true interpretation of the 
federal compact. Here also sat, for part of its 
session, the Convention of 1829-.'^0, of which 
Madison, Monroe, Marshall, and John Randolph 
of Roanoke were members — theli.-t. of its mem- 
bership constituting the Virginia '" Roll of Battle 
Abbey." The Convention of lo5J that "re- 
stored " universal suffrage, and tiuit of 1861, 
with its Declaration of Indepeudeiice of the 
United States, sat herein ; the lattov holding 
most of its session in the old African ( Jhurc.h on 
Broad street. 

Hither, in 1862, came from Montgo^iery, Ala- 
bama, the Congress of the Confederate States of 
America, and sat till that fateful day ;n .\pril, 
1865, on which Lee's lines were broke v. :U Peters- 
burg, when it adjourned — not sine di- . i'ldet-d — 
yet never to meet again. And here, iii 1867, sat 
the Convention which framed our pne-ent Con- 
stitution, and mutilated the Virgin ii Bill of 
Rights drawn by George Mason. 

The Confederate Senate Chamber \ us where 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



the Governor's otfioes now are ; the House of 
Representatives in the present State Senate 
Chamber ; the House of Delegates occupying its 



own Hall, and the State Senate the rooms now 
used as the offices of the Secretary of the Com- 
monwealth. 




The Rotunda. 

The Rotunda, which is really a quadrangle, is 
the stateliest of the Halls in the Capitol. Its 
just and symmetrical proportions will immedi- 
ately arrest any artistic q\q. 

HoLidon's Washington. 

A monograph of the late Col. Sherwih McRae 
begins thus : '" Houdon's statue of Washington 
is interesting to mankind as the most perfect 
representation of this j^eerless man that exists. 
While it is the cherished object of pride and 
affection with our whole countrj-, Virginia re- 
members that before time and opportunity had 
fully developed the civic virtues of Washington, 
she acknowledged him the chief of her sons 
and sealed the acknowledgment with this 
matchless statue." 

Let it be remembered in this connection that 
as early as the loth of May, 1784 — five years 
before the adoption of the Federal Constitiition 
and Washington's election as President, and, 
therefore, before he had achieved his civic feme 
and given the world the best illustration that — 
"Peace liath her victories no less renowned than war," 

the General Assembly had voted this statue to 
him, and Madison had penned the inscription 
for the pedestal as it now appears thereon: 
"The General Assembly of the Commonwealth 
of "N'irginia have caused this statue to be erected 
as a monument of affection and gratitude to 
(jeorge Washington, who, uniting to the endow- 
ments of the hero, the virtues of the patriot, 



and exerting both in establishing the liberties 
of his country, has rendered his name dear to 
his fellow-citizens, and given to the world an 
immortal example of true glory." 

Is there anything more felicitous in ancient or 
modern literature than this inscription — por- 
traying, as it does, the character of the man 
with as much fidelity as the statue itself depicts 
his person ! 

Mr. Jefferson, being then in Piiris, engaged 
Houdon to come to Virginia to make the statue, 
saying of him; "He is, without rivalship, the 
first statuary of this age, as a proof of which he 
receives orders from everj^ other country' for 
things intended to be capital." 

Washington was consulted as to the costume 
of the statue, and with characteristic modesty 
declined to dictate in the matter, saying, how- 
ever : "On the contrary, I shall be perfectly 
satisfied with whatever may be judged decent 
and proper. I should even scarcely have ven- 
tured to suggest that perhaps a servile adher- 
ence to the garb of antiquity might not be 
altogether so expedient as some little deviation 
in favour of the modern costume, if I had not 
learned from Col. Humphreys that this was a 
circumstance hinted in conversation by Sir. 
West to M. Houdon. " To this Jefferson replies : 
"I was happy to find * * * that the 
modern dress for your statue would meet your 
approbation. I found it strongly the sentiment 
of West, Copely, Trumbull and Brown in- Lon- 
don, after which it would be ridiculous to add 
that it was my own. I think a modern in an 



10 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



antique dress as just an object of ridicule as a 
Hercules or ]Mariu.s with a periwig and t'hai)eau 
bras. " 

Houdon sailed from Paris in August, 1785, 
arrived at Mount Vernon October 3d, ensuing, 
and returned to Paris about January, 1786. He 
completed the statue in 1788. The Capitol not 
being finished, it was detained in France till 
1796, reached Philadelphia in April, and Rich- 
mond in ^lay of that year, and was erected in 
the Rotunda INIay 14, 1796. In September, 
1872, on account of the insecurity of the floor, 
it was removed to a place of security till the 
floor could be strengthened, and was replaced 
in the Rotunda in 1873. 

Lafayette said of the statue : "It is a fac 
simile of Washington's person," and Gilbert 
Stuart, the great artist, said in effect that the 
Houdon bust is par excellence the true likeness. 

The artist received as compensation, one 
thousand English guineas, about $5,250, his 
expenses to and from Virginia, and the cost of 
his life insurance while absent from France. 

Dr. AV. P. Palmer, formerly Secretary of the 
Virginia Historical Society, relates this incident : 
"Rembrandt Peale came to Richmond in 1855 
especially to see this statue, and said, in conver- 
sation with me : ' When a boy I lived on the 
same square with General Washington in Phila- 
delphia, during his second term as President, 
and used to see him almost every day. Thus I 
became very familiar with his appearance. Now 
if you will stand in the southeast corner of the 
Rotunda, and look at this statue on a level with 
it, you may well think you are beholding Wash- 
ington himself. That is the man, sir, exactly. ' " 

Peale after\\'ards painted one of the best- 
known portraits of Washington. 

Dr. Palmer also said that the statue was pro- 
nounced by Robert Winthrop, in a conversation 
with Mr. Wirt Henry, of this city, to be not 
only the most precious, but one amongst the 
most priceless pieces of mai-ble in the world. 

It is the only cast of Washington extant, the 
splendid statue of him by Canova, the property 
of North Carolina, having been destroyed by 
fire many years since. 

This gem of ours ought to be placed in some 
fire-proof building as soon as possible, before it 
meet the same fate. 

We have this anecdote from Hon. P.. John- 
son Barbour, of Orange County, as to the rather 
more-than-erect attitude of the statue. It 
seems that a statuary, as well as a poet, must 
have his "inspiration." Houdon arrived at 



Mount Vernon, and was treated with great con- 
sideration l)y Washington. He fell sick for a 
few days, but after his recoveiy made no sign 
that he was ready to begin work, and the Gen- 
eral began to be a little weary of him. 

One morning a,t breakfast a noti- was handed 
Washington, who had given notice that he 
wished to buy a jiair of carriage horses, stating 
that a pair had been sent down for his inspec- 
tion. He walked out to look at them, and Hou- 
don with him. Expressing himself as much 
pleased with the horses, he asked their price, 
and was answered, a thousand dollars ! He at 
once, and all unconsciouslj^ assumed an attitude 
and aspect of indignation at such extortion, 
when, to everybody's amazement, Houdon 
cried out triumphantly, ".\h, I 'ave him, I 
'ave him ' ' ! and from that hour tiiere was no 
loss of time till the cast was made. 

So Washington did not buy the horses, but 
Houdon caught his "inspiration," and the 
statue its pose. 

In the rotunda ai"e also io be seen a Inist of 
Lafayette, bj^ Houdon, and one of General J. 
E. B. Stuart, by Valentine. 

By some mishap the nose of the bust of La- 
fayette got broken off. On the occasion of his 
visit to Richmond in 1824 there was great trepi- 
dation lest he reach the city before it could be 
restored ; but happily it was accomplislied in 
time. 

Hall of the House of Delegates. 

On the north side of the Rotunda is the Hall, 
which the House of Delegates has occu])ied 
since the completion of the Capitol. On the 
right as ' you enter is a life-size poi'trait of 
Thomas Jefferson ; on the left a similar one of 
the Earl of Chatham. The latter was painted 
by Charles Willson Peale, the head copied from 
a bust by Wilton, and was presented, in 1768, 
by Edmund Jenings, of London and ]\Iary- 
land, but a native of Virginia, to the " (lentle- 
meu of Westmoreland County, A'irginia," who 
had subscribed a sum of money for a ])ortrait of 
Lord Camden, and requested J\lr. Jenings to 
have it executed. The portrait is said to have 
been preserved at Stratford, AVestmoreland 
(the birthplace of Richard Henry, Francis. 
Lightfoot, and Robert E. Lee), whence about 
1825 it was removed to the county court-house. 
In 1847, in response to a reciuest of the Library 
Committee of the Legislature, tendered in 183.'), 
the County Court presented the portrait to the 
State. There is represented in the picture an 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



11 



altar supported by busts of Sydney and Hamp- 
den ; in the background is seen the palace of 
Whitehall, with the window from which 
Charles I was led out to execution, and, nearer 
to the front, the figure of Britannia raising 
the cap of Liberty. Chatham holds INIagna 
Charta in his left hand. 

The portrait of Jefferson was painted Ijy Cat- 
lin, and purchased by the State. 

Colonial Furniture of the Hall. 

Two very interesting and anticjue pieces of 
furniture — for a great while in this Hall — are 
now in the Rotunda gallery, and will probably 
be removed to the fire-proof building when 
completed, viz : 

The Speaker's Chair and the Three-Story 
Stove. 

The tradition is that the chair was made in 
1700. It was long occupied by the Speaker of 
the Colonial House of Burgesses, and, until a 
few years since, by the Speaker of the House of 
Delegates. The back of it was formerly deco- 
rated with the royal arms of England. These, 
according to the manuscript history of Virginia 
by Edmund Randolph, were stripped off by 
order of the House at the beginning of the 
Revolution. 

The Stove, of unique design and much orna- 
mented by figures in relief, was made in Lon- 
don in 1770, by Buzaglo, a celebrated stove- 
maker of that period. It was ordered by Lord 
Botetourt, Governor, as a present to the House 
of Burgesses. Botetourt died before it w'as 
sent to Virginia, but his purpose was carried 
out by his heir and executor, the Duke of Beau- 
fort. Buzaglo, the maker, writing to the Duke, 
August 15, 1770, says ; " The Elegance of work- 
manship and Impression of every particular 
joint does honour to Great Britain. It excels 
in grandeur anything ever seen of the kind, 
and is a Masterpiece not to be equalled in all 
Europe. It has met with General applause, 
and could not be sufliciently admired ! " On 
the front it has the colonial arms, with the 
motto: " ii^H dat Virginia Quartam,'^ and on 
the other side a figure of Justice with a scroll 
labeled INIagna Charta, and the very apt motto 
(for a stove): "Pro aris et focis," — "For our 
altars and firesides. " Buzaglo did not call it a 
stove, but ii " Warming Machine. " It was used 
for many yeai's to heat the Hall, and some time 
])rior to 1852 was moved into the Rotunda, and 
for some years following fire was kept in it there 
during the sessions of the Legislature, Both 



the chair and stove are now preserved as pre- 
cious relics. 

The Senate Chamber. 

This Chamber is immediately opposite the 
Hall of the House, and on the southside of the 
Rotunda. On its wall hangs a very large paint- 
ing by Lami, a French artist, representing the 
storming of the redoubts at Yorktown, October 
14, 1781. It was presented to the State by the 
late W. W. Corcoran, Esq., of Washington, D. 
C. In this Chamber sat the Confederate House 
of Representatives. 

The Capitol Disaster. 

The Court of Appeals formerly sat in an u^jper 
Hall of the Capitol — almost directly over the 
Hall of the House. In "reconstruction" days 
a very angry contested-election case, known as 
Ellyson vs. Cahoon, was pending before the 
court, and it was supposed the opinion would 
he delivered April 27, 1870. The court room 
was literally packed with a throng of people 
interested in the decision. Just as the judges 
were entering from the conference room, the 
floor gave way, and a most appalling disaster 
ensued, the whole audience being precipitated 
many feet below, with the debris of falling joists 
and plastering. Sixty-five persons were killed 
and two hundred injured, among them some of 
the most eminent men of the Commonwealth. 

Other Rooms. 

In the basement are the offices of the Treas- 
urer and Auditors of the State, and of the 
Register of the Land Office. None of them 
contains any object of special interest except 
that in the Land Office there is a series of vol- 
umes of land grants beginning in 1623, and also 
the records relating to Revolutionary bounties 
and land grants. Most of these offices will be in 
the new building. L^pstairs are the offices of 
the Governor and the Secretary of the Common- 
wealth, and also the State Library as of this 
writing. 

Portraits in the Rotunda Gallery. 

The names are given in order as the visitor 
passes to the left on entering. 

1. Thomas West, third Lord De La Warr (or 
Delaware) ; born about 1579 ; appointed Gover- 
nor of Virginia "for life;" arrived at James- 
town, June 10, 1610, and inunediately instituted 
vigorous measures for the recuperation of the 
colony. His health failing, he left. Virginia 
March 28, 1611, and in the spring of 1618, sailed 
from England for Virginia the second time, but 



12 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



(lied on the voyiige, June S, 1(>1S, in or near 
Delaware Bay. Hi.s l)rother, ("ai)tain John 
West, was Governor in l();>o and U)."!!), and has 
many deseendants in Virginia. The town of 
West Point derives its name from the family. 
Lord De I.a '\\'arr Avas ancestor of the present 
Earl De La Warr and of Hon. L. 8. Saekville- 
West, formerly British Minister at Washington. 
This picture was copied from the original in 
England hy W. L. Shei)])ard, of Richmond, Va. 

2. Fk.wcis Howaui), Lord Howard of Ethng- 
ham, succeeded to the title in KiSl ; was com- 
missioned Governor of Virginia Septemher 28, 
1683: arrived in the colony April 1(5, 1()84, and 
was recalled, end)arking for England, October 
20, 1088, when> he died .March :!U, 1(«)4. 

Copied hy W. L. Slieppard, from the original 
in England l)y Kneller. 

3. Thom.vs Nelson, Jr., was born at York- 
town, ^'a., December 20, 1738, antl was son of 
William Nelson, President of the Council and 
Acting-Governor of Virginia. He was educated 
in England at private schools, and at Trinity 
College, Cambridge, and returning to Virginia, 
was elected to the Hou.se of Burgesses in 1774; 
was a member of the Conventions of 1774-75-70 ; 
member of Congress, 1775-77, and signed the 
Declaration of Independence. In August, 1777, 
he was called to the field as Brigadier-General 
and Commander-in-Chief of the Virginia militia. 
In the spring of 1 781 was elected Governor, and 
commanded tlie 7,000 Virginia militia in service 
at the siege of Yorktown, receiving high com- 
mendation from Washington. He spent almost 
his entire estate (originally a very large one) in 
the service of the country, and neither he nor 
his heirs ever received any return. 

This portrait was painted by Slieppard, from 
a photograph of an original by ('ham])erlain, 
London, 1754. 

4. John Pacjk, of Rosewell, Gloucester 
County, descended from a distinguished colonial 
family: was born April 17, 1743; was a member 
of the House of Burgesses, of the lirst Execu- 
tive Council of the State in 1770, and Lieutenant- 
Governor. He was member of Congress from 
1789 to 1797, and in 1802 was elected (iovernor. 
He died October 11, 1808, and was buried jn St. 
John's churchyard, in Richmond, where a monu- 
ment to his memory was erec'ted a fi'W yeai's 
ago. 

Tile portrait is a copy l)y llealy, from an 
original painted l>y Benjamin We.st in 1758. 



Presented in 1881 by Dr. B. C. M. Page, of New 
York. 

5. Alex.vxuek Si'oTswooi), son of Kobert 
Spotswood, a physician, and grandson of Robert 
Spotswood, President of the Court of Session, 
Scotland, was Vjorn at Tangier, Africa, where his 
father was surgeon of the forces. He entered 
the army in early youth, served with distinction 
under the Duke of INIarlborough, and was 
dangerously wounded at Blenheim, where lie 
served as Deputy (iuartermaster (Jeneral with 
the rank of Colonel. He was soon after 
appointed (lovernor of Virginia ; arrived in the 
colony in 1710, and held the office of (Governor 
until 1722. He led, in 1710, an exi)loring party 
beyond the Blue Hidge, and created the compan- 
ions of his journey "Knights of the [(iolden] 
Horseshoe." Promoted Major-Genei'al, he was 
about to embark with the troo})s destined 
for Carthagena, but died at Annapolis, June 7, 
1740. The commonly accepted tradition that 
he resided and was buried at " Temple Farm " — 
the Yorktown Ijattle-ground — has lately been 
proven untrue by the researches of Lyon G. 
Tyler, President of William and ^Nlary College. 

The portrait is an original, said to be by 
Kneller, and was presented to the State in 1874 
by Mr. Philip F. Spotswood, of Orange County. 

0. John Murray, fourth Earl of Dumnore, 
the last royal Governor of Virginia, was born 
1732, appointed Governor of New Y'ork 1770, 
and of Virginia, 1771, and after a lengthy dis- 
pute with the Burgesses and Conventions, 
fled, June (i, 1775, with his family from Wil- 
liamsburg, and took refuge on a man-of-war. 
Collecting a mixed force of British soldiers, 
tories and runaway negroes, he committed many 
depredations along the shores of the bay and 
rivers ; but his forces were defeated at (ireat 
Bridge, near Norfolk, December 9, 1775, and in 
June, 1770, he was dislodged from his last post 
at Gwynn's Island. He died March, 1790, 
leaving among other children, a daughter Vir- 
ginia, who was born in Virginia in 1774 or 1775 ; 
was so named at the reipiest of the House of 
Burgesses, and was living at a great age a few 
years ago ; and another daughter, Augusta, who 
married in 1793, tiic Duke of Snsscx, son of 
George 111. Sliciiandnah County was origi- 
nally named Dnnmorc, ))nt as a protest again.><t 
his atrocities, the name was changed in 1777. 
Fincastle, Botetourt Comity, .so called in honor 
of Dunmore's second title, and the courtesy title 
of his eldest son, still, iiowever, bears the name. 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



1't 



The portrait is a copy by Sheppard, from the 
original in England, by Reynolds. 

7. John Robinson, (died 17()()) ; Speaker of 
the House of Burgesses for twenty-eight years ; 
brother of Colonel Beverley Robinson, of New 
York, who was implicated in the Arnold-Andre 
incident. 

S. P^n.MtND Kani>o[,i>ii, Ijorn August 10, 17-i:;, 
died September !;:>, 181M ; was son of John Ran- 
dolph, Attorney General of Virginia, who went 
to England at the beginning of the Revolution, 
and nephew of Peyton Randolph, tirst President 
of the Continental Congress. He was an aid- 
de-camp of Washington in 1775, was a member 
of the old Congress, an influential member of 
the United States Constitutional Convention 
of 1787, and of the Virginia Convention of 17S.S, 
was appointed the first Attorney-Creneral of the 
United States in 1789, and Secretary of State in 
1794. lie was Governor of Virginia 17S()-1788. 

The portrait is a co]iy by Fislier from an 
original. 

9. Robert Brooke, born 17')4, died 1799 ; was 
Captain of Cavalry in the Revolution, Governor 
of Virginia 1796-1797, and Attorney-General of 
the State from 1798 until his death. 

The portrait is a copy by Shepjiard from a 
profile by St. Memin. 

10. Tho.mas Walker Gilmer, born April (i, 
1802, died February 28, 1844. He was long a lead- 
ing member of the House of Delegates, Speaker 
of that l)ody in 1838 and 18:)9, elected Governor 
of Virginia February, 1840, Member of Congress 
May, 1840-184:], and was ap])ointed, February, 
1844, Secretary of the Navy. While holding 
this office he was killed by the explosion of a 
gun on l)oard the frigate Princeton. 

The portrait is an original, and was presented 
to the State in 1874 l)y .lames I>. (iilmer, Char- 
lottesville, \i\. 

11. Littleton Waller Tazewell, born De- 
cember 17, 1774, died May (>, 18(50 ; son of 
Henry Tazewell, United States Senator. The 
subject of the portrait was one of the most 
eminent lawyers and statesmen of ^'irginia and 
the United States. He was a INIember of the 
T'uited States Senate and of the Virginia Con- 
stitutional Convention of 1829-1 8:!0, and was 
(iovernor of the State 18;54-I8;!(i. 

The portrait is a copy of an original l)y Ilealy, 
])resented to the State in 1874 by ]\Iisses Sally 
and Klla W. Tazewell, of Norfolk, Va. 

12. I »avii)Ca.mi'1!ell, l)orn August 2, 1779, died 



March 19, 1859 ; was Colonel United States 
Army, served actively in the War of 1812, and 
was (iovernor of Virginia 18:5()-]840. 

The portrait, an original by Fisher, was j)re- 
sented to the State in 1877 by 'the children of 
Mrs. v.. I. (Campbell) Shelton and of Governor 
W. r>. Campbell, of Tennessee. 

!.">. William Smith, born September (i, 1797, 
and died May 18, 1887 ; was elected Governor of 
Virginia in 1845, and again in 18(53, and, in 
spite of his advanced age, served actively as 
Brigadier-General Confederate States Army un- 
til he (pialified as Governor. He was jjrobably 
the oldest officer in either army. 

The {xnlrait is an original ))y .1. J. Porter, 
and was i>resented in 1874. at tlie recjuest of the 
State, by Ciovernor Smith. 

14. William H. Cabell, born December Ki, 
1772, died January 12, 1853 ; was Governor of 
Virginia 1805-1808, and Judge of the Court of 
Api)ea]s from 1811 to 1851. 

15. .John Tvlek, Sr., born February 28, 1747, 
died January (i, 1813, was Judge of the Court of 
Admiralty, of the General Court, of the United 
States District Court, Sjjeaker i if the House of 
Delegates, and elected GoveriKir of Virginia in 
1808. 

The i)ortrait is an original ; presented to the 
State by his granddaughter, IMis. Letitia Tyler 
Semi)le. 

Ki. John Randolph, of Roanoke, born June 
2, 177.3, dii-d June 24, 1833; celebrated as Orator 
and Statesman ; Meniber of Congress from 1800 
to 1813, and from 1815 to 1824 ; United States 
Senator 1825-7, and Minister to Russia in 1830. 

The portrait was presented to the State by 
Harmanus Rleecker. 

17. James Patton Preston, l)orn June21, 1774, 
died May 4, 1843; was Colonel United States 
Army, serving through the War of 1812, and 
Governor of Virginia 181()-19. 

The portrait is an original ; presented to the 
State in 1874 by Robert T. Preston. 

18. (iEoROE RooERs Ci.ARK, hoi'ii Xovcmher 
19, 1752, died February 18, 1818; in 177S, holding 
a eommission as Lieutenant-Colonel from Vir- 
ginia, commanding Virginia troops, and fur- 
nished with eiiuipments and supplies by Vir- 
ginia, he captured Kaskaskia and took possession 
of the whole Illinois country ; and in Febniary, 
1779, he recaptured Mneennes and the British 
(iovernor of Detroit, thus securing the North- 
west territory to Virginia, which that State sul)- 



14 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



sequeutly ceded to the general governiuent. 
"All of that rich domain north of the Ohio 
was secured to the republic in conse(iuence of 
his prowess." lie was subsequently Brigadier- 
<Teneral of Virginia troops, and rendere(l much 
valuable service. A current story that lie broke a 
sword which was many years later i>resented him 
by Virginia, saying : "Sliesends mea toy ; I need 
bread," is contradicted by his letter (whii'h is 
preserved in the State records) expressing his 
thanks for the gift. 

lit. William 11. Koank, born 17SS, died May 
11, 1>S4."). lie was the son of Spencer Roane, 
President of the Court of Appeals of A'irginia, 
and grandson of Patrick Henry, and was mem- 
ber of the United States House of Kej)resenta- 
tives and Senate. 

20. Wii.i.iAM P>i;an(II (iii.ios, liorn .\ngust 12, 
17()2, died Di-ci'mliei- 4, IS:!!); was long one of 
the leaders of tiie Ivepublican or Democratic 
party in the I'nited States ; was member of the 
U. S. House of Representatives 17!)0-1SI)(), of the 
U. S. Senate ISOo-lSla, and of the Virginia 
Convention of 1 829-' 30. 

The portrait is a copy by 3Ieyers from an 
original by Gilbert Stuart. 

21. J.\MES M.\DisoN, President of the United 
States, and one of the principal authors of the 
United States Constitution. 

22. JoH.x BrcH.\.\AX Fi.ovd, born June 1st, 
1806, died August 2(i, 18(53 ; son of Governor 
John Floyd. He was Governor of Virginia 
1849-1858; Secretary of AVar of the Uniti'd 
States 1857-'()0, and P>rigadier-General C. S. A. 

2;>. (teoi:(;k \Vii.i.L\.\r SMrni, l)orn about 1702, 
died December 2(), ISll; son of Meriwether 
Smith, dis-tinguislied in the early history of the 
State. He was a lucmlicr of the House of Dele- 
gates, of the State Council, and as Lieutenant- 
Governor succeeded t(j the oflice of Governor 
upon the resignation of James ]\Ionroe. He 
lost his life at the burning of the Richmond 
Theatre. 

24. J AMKs P).VKHori{, born in Orange county, 
Virginia, June 10, 1775, died June 7, 1842 ; cham- 
pion of resolutions of 1798-99 in the House of 
Delegates, the author of them, James INIadison, 
being his colleague in the Uegi.slature ; elected 
Governor 1811, and was " war governor" ; like 
Governor Nelson i)ledging his i)er.sonal means 
for State credit; United States Senator 1815 to 
1825; Secretary of AVar, 1825 to 1828; :Minister 



Plenii)otentiary to (Jreat Britain 1828-29 ; origi- 
nator of the Literary Fund of A^irginia. 

Portrait, given by his daughter, 3Irs. Cornelia 
Collins, is a copy of an original by Harding. 

25. Jamks McDowei.i,, born Octoi)er 11, 1795, 
died August 24, 1851 ; Governor of A'irginia 
1843-4() ; and member of the I'nited States 
House of Rei)resentatives 184G-51. 

2(). JonxTvLicii, JK.,'born March 29, 1790, died 
January 17, 18(>2 ; President of the United 
States, and Governor of Virginia. 

The portrait is an original; presented to the 
State by his daughter, 3Irs. Letitia Tvler Seni- 
pie. 

27. WvNDUAM Rdheutsox, born Januarj' 2(»,' 
180.'!, died February 11, 1888 ; was elected mem- 
ber of the Council of State in 1833, and, as Lieu- 
tenant-(TOvernor, in 1830, succeeded to the office 
of Governor on the )'esignation of (jovernor 
Tazewell. 

The portrait is aii original by Guillaume, pre- 
sented, at the request of the State, by (Jovernor 
Robertson. 

28. TIIo^L\s .Ieffeksox, born April 1.3, 1742, 
died July 4, 1820 ; President of the United States 
and (xovernor of A^irginia, vVuthor of the Decla- 
ration of Independence, of the Virginia Statute 
for Religious Freedom, and Father of the Uni- 
versity of A'irginia. 

The portrait is a copy by Elder IVom an origi- 
nal l)y Gilbert Stuart. 

29. P.VTiMCK Hexkv, born ]May 29, 173(), died 
June 0, 1799; first (iovernor of the State of 
A'irginia. 

The i)ortrait was painted by Thomas Sully 
from a miniature taken In' a French artist, 
when Patrick Henry was arguing the British 
Del)t cases in the Ignited States Court at Rich- 
mond, and was pronomiced by John Marshall 
and others to be a line likeness. It was given 
by AVm. AVirt to John Henry (son of Patrick 
Henry), and by him left to his son, Wni. Wirt 
Henry, Esq., now of this city, who in Novem- 
ber, 1873, deposited it in the Capitol as a l<)an. 

30. PocAiioNiAs, born about 1595, died in 
England March 21, 1 010. She was famous as 
the daughter of Powhatan, the warm friend of 
the Colonists, the rescui'r of .loim Smith, the 
first of the A'irginia Indians to l)e converted to 
Christianity and marry an Englishman, and as 
the ancestress of many ])roniinent families in 
A'irginia. 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



15 



The portrait is a copy by Sheppard from tlie 
original in Norfolk County, England. 

31. JoHX Floyd, born April 24, 1783, died 
August 15, 1837 ; was Member Congress 1817- 
1829, and Governor of Virginia 1830-1834. 

32. JoHX Ri'TiiERFooHD, boru December \), 
1792, died August 3, ISliO ; Member of the 
House of Delegates, and of the Council of State, 
and as Senior Councillor, succeeded to the 
office of Governor, March, 1841, following John 
M. Patton. 

The portrait is an original by (iuillaume. 

33. Joseph Johnson, born December 19, 1785, 
died February 27, 1877 ; was one of the two 
Governors of N'irginia who were natives of 
New York ; but his mother moved to Virginia 
in 1801. He was Member of Congress, and was 
Governor of Virginia 1852-1855. 

The portrait is an original by P]ldei-, and was 
presented by Governor Johnson, at the request 
of the State, in 1873. 

34. Henry Alexander Wlse, born December 
30, 1802, died September 14, 1870 ; was Member of 
Congress, Governor of Virginia 1855-1859, and 
Brigadier-General Confederate States Army. 

The portrait is an original by Elder. 

35. George Washixhton, born February 22, 
1732, died December 14, 1799 ; first President of 
the United States. 

An etching from the Stuart portrait. 

36. Martha "WASHiNcrroN, nee Dandridge, 
born May, 1732, died May 22, 1802 ; wife of 
George Washington. 

Etching from the portrait l)y Stuart. 

37. James Monroe, born April 28, 1758, died 
July 4, 1831 ; President of the United States 
and Governor of Virginia. 

38. John S.mith, born January, 1579, died 
June 21, 1632; Governor of Virginia, and the 
chief agent in the founding of the Colony. 

Painted by Sheppard from the engraving by 
De Pass prefixed to Smith's works. 

39. Meriwether Lewis, born August 18, 1774, 
died October 8, 1809 ; was an officer in the 
United States Army, Private Secretary to Presi- 
dent Jefferson, and with William Clark, 1804-6, 
explored the western country from the ^Missouri 
to the Pacific. 

40. William Clark, Ixirn August 1, 1770, 
died September 1, 1838 ; was bnjther of Gen- 
eral George Rogers Clark ; was an officer in the 
United States Army ; associate of Lewis in the 
famous exi^loring expedition ; Brigadier-Gene- 



ral for the territory of LTpper Louisiana ; and 
Governor of Missouri Territory. 

41. Tho.mas .T. (Stonewall) Jackson, born 
January 21, 1824, died May 10, 1863 ; Lieutenant- 
General, C. S. A. ; mortally wounded ^Ia\' 2, 
1864, at the battle of Chancellorsville. 

The portrait is by Matthews from a photo- 
graph. 

42. (tii-bert Carlton Walker, born in New 
York August 1, 1832, died :\[ay 11, 1885 ; settled 
in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1864 ; was the first civil 
Governor of Virginia after the war, and served 
1869 to 1873. 

The portrait is an original by Fisher. 

43. James Lawson Ke.mper, born .lune 11, 
1823 ; was Brigadier-General, C. S. A. ; severely 
wounded and disabled for service at Gettys- 
burg ; was elected Governor of Virginia in 1874. 

The jiortrait is an original by Fisher. 

44. John Letcher, born March 29, 1813, died 
January 2(5, 1884; Governor of Virginia 1859-63, 
and Member of Congress 1852-59 ; known as 
one of the " War Governors. " 

45. J. E. B. Stuart, born February 6, 1833, 
died June 12, 1864 ; Major-General C. S. A. com- 
manding the cavalry of the Army of Northern 
Virginia ; was mortally wounded at the Yellow 
Tavern near Richmond, May 11, 1864, and died 
the next day at the residence of Dr. Brewer, on 
Grace street, between Adams and Jefterson, 
Richmond. 

Portrait by Forney. 

4(>. Robert Edward Lee, born January 19, 
1807, died October 12, 1870 ; Commander-in- 
Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States. 

The portrait is by Elder. 

47. John Marshall, born September 24, 1755, 
died July (>, 1835 ; Chief Justice of the United 
States. 

Portrait by Inman, Philadeli)hia. 18:!1. Lent 
to the State l)y his granddaughters, the ^Misses 
Harvie. 

4S. William S. Archer, born March 5, 1789, 
died ^Nlarch 28, 1855 ; Member of the Virginia 
Legislature from 1812-1819, of the United States 
House of Representatives 1820-1835, and United 
States Senator 1841-1847. 

An original by Healy. 

49. Edward Johnson, born April 16, 1S16, 
died February 22, 1873 ; Major-General Con- 
federate States Army. 

Portrait l)y Elder. 



16 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



5(1 Josei'H Egoi.kstox Johnston, l)orii Feb- 
ruary ;5, 1S07, (lied Mardi L'l, lSi»l ; (General 
Confederate States Army 

Portrait by P.lder. 

51. George P^dwaku Pickett, lx)rn January 
25, 1825, died July 80, 1S75; Major-deneraT 
Confederate States Army, and ac<iuired esyieeial 
renown by his charge at (Gettysburg. 

Portrait by ^Irs. Powers, fnMii a pliotograph. 

52. Henky Lee ("Light Horse Marry"), 
born January 29, 1756, died March 25, 1818 ; 
served in the Revolution as Colonel, commanding 
"Lee's Legion"; was ISIember of the Virginia 
Convention of 1788, of Congress 178()-1788 and 
1799-1801, and was (lovernor of Vii-ginia 1792- 
1795. As Brigadier-General he commanded the 
forces sent to suppress the Whislcey Insurrec- 
tion, and in 1799, on the death of Waslnng- 
ton, in an oration in Congress lie originated the 
famous phrase, " First in War, First in Peace, 
and First in tlie Hearts of His Countrymen." 
He was the father of General R. E. Lee, and the 
grandfather of (Governor Fitzhugh Lee. 

Portrait is a copy oy Sheppard of an original 
by Stuart, in the possession of Mrs. Lucy Lee, 
widow of Charles Carter Lee, of Powhatan 
county. 

5?). John Buchanan, born 1743, died Decem- 
ber, 1822 ; for many years Rector of the Episco- 
pal Church in Richmond. 

An original i)()i-trait by Edward Peticolas. 
Presented in 1874 by Miss Nannie and (ieorge 
F. Norton . 

54. George Wythe Mlnfoud, born January 8, 
180:^, died January 10, 1882 ; son of William 
:Munford, the translator of Homer. He was 
Clerk of the House of Delegates of Virginia for 
twenty-five years, and afterwards Secretary of 
the Commonwealtli ; was Compiler and Editor 
of the Codes of 1860 and 1871), and Author of 
"The Two Parsons." 

Portrait, an original by Elder, presented in 
1875 by Mr. and Mrs. Wm. P. Munford. 

55. General Ei-liott. This i)ortrait was pre- 
sented to the State by Mr. Philip F. Spotswood, 
of Orange county, who gave the Spotsvw)od 
portraits. According to tradition the subject 
was a General in the English Army, and a half 
brother of Governor Spotswood. Tlie better 
opinion is that tlie owners of this j)ortrait were 
mistaken as to its identity, and that it is really 
a portrait of the Duke of Marlborough, on 
whose staff (iovernor Si)otswood served at the 
Battle of Blenheim. Certainly it bears a strik- 



ing resemblance to other portraits of ]Marl- 
borough . 

56. George Mason, born 1725, died October 
7, 1792 ; one of the most distinguished States- 
men of Virginia in the Revolutionary period, 
and the author of the Bill of Rights, and 
draughtsman of the lirst written Constitution of 
the State. He was also a leading member in the 
convention that framed the Constitution of the 
United States. 

Portrait a cojiy by I'.lder of an original l)y an 
unknown artist. 

57. Fitzhu(;h Lee, born November 19, 1835 ; 
Major General of Cavalry, Confederate States 
Army, and Governor of Virginia, 1886-90. 

Portrait, an original by Elder. 

58. Peter Francisco, born, it is supposed, in 
Portugal, died January 17, 1831 ; was brought to 
Virginia in boyhood as an indentured servant, 
and was bought by a gentleman whom he served 
until the Revolution, when he obtained per- 
mission to join the army. He was celebrated 
for his great strength, and served throughout 
the war with much gallantry. He was six feet 
one inch in height, weighed 260 pounds, and 
used a sword with a blade five feet in length. 
This sword was preserved in the Virginia State 
x\rmory until the commencement of the late war, 
when it was returned to Francisco's grandson, a 
Captain of Cavalry, Confederate States Army, also 
a very powerful man. IVIany anecdotes are pre- 
valent in Virginia of Peter Francisco's physical 
powers, some of which may be found in Howe's 
History of Virginia, and in Garden's Anecdotes. 
One of the most celebrated of these is of his 
escape from nine of Tarleton's Cavalry after 
wounding two of them. An engraving of this 
incident was for many years very pojiular, and 
was to be found in almost every house in the 
State. A copy of it is in the State Library. 
After the Revolution he was appointed Ser- 
geant-at-arms of the House of Delegates. 

59. Philii' Watkins McKinney, born March 
17, 1834 ; (Governor of Virginia, 1890-94. 

60. William Nelson, of Yorktown, born 1711, 
died November 19, 1772 ; President of the Coun- 
cil, and (iovernor from thc> death of Botetourt, 
October 5, 1770, until the arrival of Dunmore, 
early in 1772. 

Portrait, a copy by Siiepiuinl, from an original. 

In the Library. 
The i)ortraits in the Library are chii'tly en- 
gravings, etchings, and photographs. 

Thojias RiTi hie, born November 5, 1778, died 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



V 



July 12, 1854 ; long the editor of the Richmuiid 
Enquirer, one of the leading organs of the Dem- 
ocratic party in the United States ; known as 
"Father Ritchie" throughout, the Union as 
of that period. ^^ 

Joseph C. Cabell, long a member of the Vir- 
ginia Legislature, and a special coadjutor of 
.lefierson in establishing the University of Vir- 
ginia- 

R. E. Lee on his war-horse "Traveller." 

William H. Cabell. 

Joiix R. Thomi'.s()x, l>orn October 23, 1823, 
died April 30, 1873 ; editor of the Southern Lite- 
rarij Messenger, and author of many poems, &c. 
An original by Elder. 

Henry Clay, born A\)V\\ 12, 1777, died June 
29, LSo2. 

Copy by Arthur Peticolas of an original by 
Xeagle. 

T. J. Jackson (Stonewall). 

Warner Lewis, of "Warner Hall"; was 
County Lieutenant of Gloucester during the 
Revolution. 

The portrait, which is said by tradition, 
(which is confirmed by the judgment of critics 
who have seen it) to be by Reynolds, was lent 
by the owner. 

James Jones, born , died 1848 ; member 

of Congress 1819-23. 

The portrait, by St. Memin, was given to the 
State by his grandchildren. 
• M.VTTHEW Fontaine Maury, born January 
14, 1806, died February 1, 1873 ; Commander 
United States Navy ; Captain Confederate States 
Xavy ; "The Pathfinder of the Seas." 

M.VTTHEW F. INIaury ; bust by Valentine. 

Ambrose Powell Hill, Lieutenant-General 
Confederate States Army ; born November 9, 
1825, killed on the lines at Petersburg April 2, 
1865. Both Lee and Jackson spoke of him with 
their dying breath— Lee saying : "Tell General 
Hill he must come up " ; and Jack.son : "A. P. 
Hill prepare for action ! ' ' 

R. E. Lee. 

R. E. Lee ; bas-relief portrait bust by O'Don- 
avan, a Virginia Sculptor in New York ; pre- 
sented by Captain Hugh R. Garden. 

Black Hawk, and two other Indian Chiefs. 

Painted from life by J. W. Ford, Richmond, 
1883. 

Robert W. Hu(;iies, Judge of the United 
States District Court. 



JdUN Letcher, Governor. 

WiLLiA.M Smith ; bust by Valentine. 

Jefferson Davis ; bust by Gait. 

This bust w^as made in the office of the ' ' Con- 
federate White House" in Richmond in 1862 by 
Alexander Gait. His note book, under date of 
February 8th, says: "Took first sitting of the 
President in his office ; took measurements of 
his face. " Then follow notes of various sittings. 
It was the only bust Mr. Davis sat for while 
President. Mr. Gait was a native of Norfolk, 
served as a member of Governor Letcher's staff", 
and did valuable work with the Confederate 
engineers. He died in Richmond January 19, 
18(53, of small-pox contracted in Stonewall Jack- 
son's camp, which he had visited to make draw- 
ings of him. He left in his studio, unfinished, 
"The Spirit of the South," and other ])ieces. 
The first named was the only one saved, and 
that was sent to Mr. H. B. Grigsby. 

John Marshall. 

William Cabell Rives, born May 4, 1793, 
died April 25, 1868 ; United States Senator, 
Minister to France, and author of Life of James 
Madison. 

Confederate Commanders — a group. 

John Penn, born in Caroline county, ^'irginia, 
May 17, 1741, died September, 1788; signer of 
the Declaration of Independence. 

AV. H. IJarrison, born in Charles City county 
Virginia ; Victor of Tippecanoe ; President of 
the United States. 

Richard Henry Lee. 

Daniel Boone. 

Meriwether Lewis. 

Cyrus Griffin, President of the Continental 
Congress. 

George M.\son. 

John Marshall ; Silhouette. 

John Randolph; Silhouette taken when he 
was appointed Minister to Russia. 

Captain John Smith. 

Jajies ]\IcDowell. 

BusHROD Washington. 

Dolly P. Madison ; wife of President ]\[adi- 
son. 

Martha Washington. 

Edgar A. Poe. 

George W. Bagby ; State Librarian, and 
author of many well-known sketches of Vir- 
ginia life. 



18 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



Bkxjamix Franklin. 

rochambeau. 

Columbus (2). 

Daniel Boone. 

R. H Lee. 

R. E. Lee ;• statue ; miniature, full length. 

Robert Burns ; bust by Valentine. 

Confederate Generals ; photographic <i;roup. 

Sir AValtek Raleigh. 

John R. Thompson. 

T. J. Jac-ksox (2). 

Edmund Pendletox ; Revolutionary Patriot 
and eminent Jurist. 

Thomas Jeffersox. 

John D. Blair ; long Minister of the Pres- 
byterian Church in Richmond. 

Augustine Warner ; Speaker of the Virginia 
House of Burgesses, 1675. Original lent to 
the State. 

In Rear Room of Library. 

Thomas Jefferson ; portrait burnt on wood. 

Matthew F. Maury ; oil portrait. 

John Tayloe Lomax, Judge of the General 
Court, and Professor of Law at University of 
Virginia. Original portrait by Elder. 

In Offices of Secretary of Commonwealth. 

" Lady Spotswood " ; wife of Governor Spots- 
wood. Original presented by Mr. P. F. Spots- 
wood. 

James Monroe. 

George Washixgtox. 

T. J. Jackson. 

R. E. Lee. 

Jos. E. JOHXSTON. 

The Library. 

In 1666, an importation of law books was 
made by the House of Burgesses for the use of 
the " Generall Courts and Assembly, " to be kei)t 
at James City, which was probably the germ of 
the first Public Libi-ary in the Colonies, except 
that at Henrico College. The Colonial Council 
possessed a collection of books of much value, 
some of which are in the present Library. At 
one of the early revisals of the laws of A'^irginia, 
Madison ])resented a bill to establish a public 
library, and the Library was actually founded 
January, 1823. 

There are in the Library about fifty thousand 



volumes, exclusive of law books. ^lost of them 
are standard ])ublications usually found in well- 
ordered libraries, but there are also many very 
rare and valuable books and manuscripts, some 
of them absolutely unique. The Rotunda 
gallery is an annex of the Library, the pictures 
and curios in which are ex2:)lained in the pages 
appropriateil to those subjects. 

Objects of Interest in the Library. 

Among the objects in the Lilirary whii'h are 
worthy of the visitor's notice, and which are 
framed and hung, or otherwise exhibited on the 
■walls, are the following, given in order as one 
passes to the right : 

Bail bond of Jefferson Davis. LithograjJiic 
copy. 

Photograi)hs (one on each side of the fi-ame), 
of the old Episcopal Church near Smithtield, 
Isle of Wight county, Virginia. This building 
is now being put in thorough repair, and is the 
oldest brick church edifice in the former English 
colonies, having been built in 1632. Two bricks 
found in the walls bear that date. 

Stucco Model of the State Capitol, sent from 
France by Thomas Jefterson. 

Letter from Maria Edgeworth. Autograph. 

View of the Federal Prison Camp at Belle 
Isle, in James River, opposite Richmond, from 
a war time photograph. 

Letter of Daniel Boone, 1783. Autograph. 

Letter of Lieutenant General A. P. Hill, Con- 
federate States of America. Autograi)h. 

Document, dated 1785, signed by Benjamin 
Harrison when Governor of Virginia : signer 
of the Declaration of Independence. 

Document signed by George Wythe, signer of 
the Declaration of Indei)endence. 

Parole of a Confederate Officer of the Army 
of Northern Virginia, May 3, 1865. 

Document signed l)y Ednumd Pendleton, 
John Page, Richard Bland, Paul Carrington, 
Thos. Ludwell Lee, Dudley Digges, Carter 
Braxton, James ^Mercer, and John Tabb, who 
constituted the Virginia Committee of Safety, 
Sejitember 1 775. 

Letter of Thomas Jefterson, ^larch, 1826. 
Autograph. 

Marriage l)ond of Thomas Jefferson. This 
was formerly on file at Charles City county 
courthouse, and was presented by the county 
court to the State Library. 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



19 



Pencil drawing of Pohick Church, Fairfax 
County, Virginia, of which Washington was an 
attendant and vestryman. 

Letter from Ceneral R. E. Lee to Governor 
John Letcher, Ajjril li), 18()1. Autograph. 

Parole of Lord Cornwallis, Yorktown, Octo- 
ber 28, 1781. This is the original with the auto- 
graph signature of Cornwallis. 

Letter reciting services of negro servant in 
Revolution, signed by Lafayette. 

Resolutions of the House of Burgesses, May 
16, 1769, declaring that the sole right of taxa- 
tion in Virginia vests in the House of Burgesses. 
Printed. 

Printed paper signed by members of the 
"Association" at Williamsburg, 1769. Auto- 
graph signatures. 

Proclamation concerning Tobacco by Charles I, 
1630. Printed. 

Invitation card to the ball given to Lafayette 
at the Eagle Hotel, Richmond, October 15, 
1824. 

Patent signed by Sir William Berkley, July 2, 
1661, with Seal of the Colony. 

Patent signed by Governor Robert Dinwiddle, 
August, 1756. 

Play-bill of the Richmond Theatre for De- 
cember 26, 1811, the night it was destroyed by 
fire, when George W. Smith, the Governor of 
the State, and Abram B. Venable, ex-Senator 
ITnited States, and about one hundred others 
lost their lives. The site of this theatre (near 
the Capitol) is now occupied by the Monumental 
Episcopal Church, in the portico of wdiich is a 
cenotaph inscribed with the names of some of 
the victims of the fire. 

Last Dispatch of Stonewall Jackson, written 
on the battle-field at Chani'ellorsville about 3 
P. M. He was mortally wounded a few hours 
later. This is the original, written in pencil, 
and, it is said, on the i)onn]iel of his saddle. 

Letter from General R. E. Lee to General 
Cooper, April 25, 1863. Autograph. 

Letter of Stonewall Jackson, dated Caroline 
county, Virginia, December 30, 1862. Auto- 
graph. 

Letter of Stonewall Jackson to Governor 
Letcher, dated Winchester, January 31, 1862, 
tendering his resignation. Autograph. The 
resignation was not accepted. 

Patent signed by William Penn. Autograph 
signature. 



Letter from Thomas Jefterson to the inhabi- 
tants of Albemarle county. Autograph. 

Letter from General Gates to John Hancock, 
President of the Continental Congress, October 
18, 1777, announcing the surrender of Burgoyne ; 
autograph. This letter was found not long since 
among the records of the ^'irginia Legislature, 
and is undoubtedly the original, and is entirely 
in Gates's own handwriting. It was doubtless 
forw^ded by Congress to the Virginia govern- 
ment.-"' 

Ja>[es a. Seddon, Secretary of War of the 
C'Onfederate States. 

William and Mary College before its destruc- 
tion by fii'e in 1859. Lithograph. 

Virginia Ordinance of Secession, with signa- 
tures of Members of the Convention. This is a 
photograph of the original first draft now in the 
archives of the United States. 

Lithograph copy of the same ordinance, 1)Ut 
evidently from the later engrossed draft. 

Letter, Philadelphia, March 4, 1843, from 
Edgar A. Poe to P. D. Bernard, Richmond, in 
reference to Poe's proposed magazine "The 
Stylus. " 

Commission of William Wirt, as Captain of 
Virginia Artillery, in the War of 1812 ; signed 
by Governor James Barbour. 

Commission of Oyer and Terminer fi'om 
Governor, Lord Botetourt, to the Court of Fair- 
fax County, of which George Washington was 
a member ; dated June, 1771. 

Copy of the first Bill of Rights of Virginia, 
entirely in the handwriting of and signed by 
the Author, George Mason. 

Letter of George Washington, Mt. Vernon, 
December 7, 1799. Autograph. This letter was 
written only seven days before his death. 

Plat and lines of a survey by George Wash- 
ington, November 3, 1749 (when he was seven- 
teen years old). Autograph. 

Pike brought to Virginia by John lirown to 
arm the negroes for insurrection, 1859. 

Paper dated JNIay 30, 1774, being a call for a 
Convention, issued by several members of the 
lately dissolved House of Burgesses, calling a 
Convention. The body which assembled under 
this call was the first of the Revolutionary Con- 
ventions of Virginia. Autogra]ih, with signa- 
tures. 

Photograph of Richmond after its partial de- 
struction by fire at the Evacuation, 1S()5. 



20 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



First Topographical MoiU'l of Virginia, by 
the late Thomas H. Williamson, Professor Vir- 
ginia Military Institute. 

View of Richmond, isri2. 

In one case will be found : 

Fac-Similes of coins mentioned in the Bible ; 
copy of the Great Seal of the Confederate States ; 
portion of the Flag taken from the Capitol at 
the surrender of Richmond, April 3, 1865 ; 
Canteen from the " Bloody Angle " at Spotsyl- 
vania Courthouse ; a Steel Breast-Plate taken 
from the l)ody of a dead Fi'dcral soldier on the 
battlelirld of Seven Pines; a Horn Drinking 
Cup. wliicii was foiinil on tlie spot wiiicli had 
been occu]>ied l)y the lu';ui(|uarters tent of Lord 
Cornwallis in 17S1. This eup was picke<l up 
the day after the tent had been removed, was 
lianded down in the same family until given to 
the State, and undoubtedly was part of the 
camp equipage of the English general. 

Also several Confederate Flags, one of them 
being the headquarters flag of General J. E. B. 
Stuart ; a piece of the armor of the Confederate 
battle-ship "Virginia," showing a crack made 
by a cannon shot during engagement with the 
"Monitor" in Hampton Roads; a Springfield 
Musket, twisted out of shape at the Crater explo- 
sion at Petersburg ; the Sabre of Heros von 
Borcke, a Piussian officer on General Stuart's 
staff, a present to the State. 

The Equestrian Statue of Washington. 

Thomas Crawfoi'd — born in New York, 181.'>, 
died in London, 1857 — was the artist of this 
masterpiece. A distinguished critic writes of it : 
" AVe might descant upon the union of majesty 
and spirit in the figure of Washington, and the 
vital truth of action in the horse, the air of 
command and rectitude, the natural vigour and 
grace so instantly felt by the popular heart, and 
so critically praised by the adept in statuary. 
* * * We might repeat the declaration, that 
no figure, ancient or modern, so entirely illus- 
trates the classic definition of oratory, as con- 
sisting in action, as the statue of Patrick Henry, 
wliich seems instinct with that memorable 
utterance — '< live me libei'ty or give me death I ' " 

The news of Crawford's death reached this 
country simultaneously with the arrival of the 
ship conveying this colossal bronze — his crowrt- 
ing achievement. The statue itself, and the 
effigies of Henry and Jefier.son — all that were 
originally ci-.ntemplated — are by Crawford, lie 
was, at a later date, also commissioned to add 



the figures of Mason and Marshall, and still 
later, of Nelson and Lewis ; but of these last 
two Crawford made no sketches. Randoli)h 
Rogers — born Watertown, X. Y., 1825, died 
Rome, 1892 — took up the work at this point and 
completed it. Crawford's design was to place 
an eagle on each of the six outer pedestals, but 
after his death the six allegorical figures were 
substituted. 

Tuckerman says that Crawford made no 
sketches even of Mason and Mai'shall. If the 
contrast with the later effigies (Xelson and 
Lewis) did not itst'lf ])alpably prove the contrary, 
the following extf-act from the contraet between 
( ioveinor \Vi.<e aii<l Rogers will lie accepted as 
conclusive: "And it was further stipulate(i [in 
the contract with Crawford] if any one or more 
of the models specified therein should be finisheil 
in the studio of Crawford, but not cast in bronze, 
and the said Crawford should die : * '" and 
unofficial information having been received that 
the statues of Mason and Marshall liarc Ixeu, 
finished in the studio of said Craivford, but not 
cast in bronze: [it is] agreed that the said 
Rogers shall cause the model or models of the 
said statues of Mason and Marshall to be cast in 
bronze in a manner in all respects equal to the 
other statues first as aforesaid contracted for. 
See Calendar \'irginia State Papers., N'ol. XL, 
pages 50-60. 

In February, 181(5, it was unanimously re- 
solved by the General Asseml>ly that the Ciov- 
ernor be authorized to open correspondence with 
Hon. Bushroil Washington in reference t(j the 
removal of the remains of (Jeneral Washington 
from Mt. Vernon to Richmond at the i)ublic ex- 
pense ; authorizing a public sul>scription for the 
erection of a monument to his memory, and 
limitinij individual subscriptions to a sum not ex- 
ceeding twent)/ dollars. ' The resolutions said fur- 
ther, that, as it was not desirable that the 
remains of the illustrious deceased be separated 
fromtho.se of his " amiable and excellent wife," 
the removal of her remains should also bi' 
requested, to be interred under the same nioim- 
ment. And they conclude thnsgrandiloiiuently : 

"And be it further resolved, unanimously, 
that the Executive l)e recpiested to api)oint i\\c 
commissioners to design the plan and sui)erin- 
tend the structure of the above monument, with 
authority also to i)rescribe the ceremonial for 
removing the precious relics of the deceased ; 
and that thi' executive be further requested to 
make known by publii' ])roclamation the period 
at which the procession shall connneni-e from 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



21 



]\[ount Vernon, and to recommend the day 
appointed for the reinterment be set apart 
throughout the Commonwealth, as one of public 
thanksgiving, adoration and praise to the Su- 
preme Author of all (lood, for having graciously 
bestowed upon Virginia a Hero, ' First in war, 
first in peace, and first in the liearts- (if his 
countrymen.' " 

The request for the removal of the remains 
was not granted, ])ut the purpose to erect the 
monument was not abandoned ; though the 
limitation set ui)on too libend contributions ap- 
pears to have been a work of supererogation. 
Thirteen thou.'^and and sixty-three dollars were 
realized from subj^criptions. Tliis sum was de- 
posited in the State Treasury, where it remained 
until it " disappeared." Tlie State, however, 
assumed resj onsibility for it, and in 1828 it was 
directed by resolution of the Legislature to be 
put at interest. On each recurring 22(1 of Feb- 
ruary, for some years afterT81(), patriotic reso- 
lutions were passed by the people's representa- 
tives. In 1S48 the fund, with accumulated inte- 
rest, and the aid of a new general subscription 
which was small, amounted to §41,830, and 
February 22, L84!), during the adnunistration of 
(xovernor John B. Floyd, an act was passed 
directing the erection of the monument and 
appropriating from the Treasury a sum sufficient 
to make, with the amount in hand, a fund of 
one hundred thousand dollai's. 

The corner-stone of the momnnent was laid 
February 22, 18o0, in the presence of a great 
tlirong of people, (ieneral Zachai-y Taylor, at 
that time President of the Fnited States, ex- 
President Tyler, and many other eminent people 
attending and participating in the ceremonies. 

The equestrian statue reached Kichmond in 
November, 1857, and was drawn by the enthu- 
siastic citizens from the ship-landing to the 
j)ublic square on tlie 24th of that month. It 
was unveiled and formally <ledicated February 
22, 1858, being the one hundred and twenty- 
sixth anniversary of Wasliington's birth. No 
such outpouring of the peoi)le had ever been 
seen in Kichmond as eame to celebrate so nota- 
l)le an event. Henry A. Wise, Governor of the 
State, jn-esided, and recited some striking lines 
to the meuKjry of the dead Crawford, who.se 
wife was among the invite<l guests. An address 
on behalf of the ^Masonic fraternity was deliv- 
ered by Robert C. Scott ; poems, i)repared for 
the occasion, were rei'ited by John R. Thomp- 
.son and James P)arron IIo])e, wlio were then 
the "rose and expectancy of the fair State" 



from a literary standpoint ; and the oration of 
the day was pronounced by United States Sena- 
tor R. M. T. Hunter, then at the zeifith of his 
fame. It was certainly a proud day in the his- 
tory of Vii'ginia. 

The statue of Ma.son was received in 18()0, and, 
the war coming on soon after, the monument 
was not fully completed till some years after it 
was ended ; l)y the addition of the effigies of 
^Marshall, Nelson, and Lewis in 18H7, and the 
allegorical figures in 18()8. 

Througli the kindness of Colonel C. P. E. 
P>urgwyn, an acconqilishe 1 civil engineer of 
Richmond, whosi' measuretn.'nts of the statue 
were by tiiangulation, we are enabled to give 
the exact dimensions of the monument and the 
main figiu'es thereon : The total elevation of the 
monument from the ground to the top of Wash,- 
ington's chapeau is sixty feet, three inches. 
The height of the equestrian statue, from top 
of i)linth to top of chapeau, twenty feet, three 
inches. Height of the effigies. Nelson, Jefferson, 
&c., eleven feet, nine inches. Length of horse 
from outside of extended fore-foot to tip of tail, 
twenty-two feet, seven inches. Diameter of 
outer masonry, eighty-six feet, ten inches. 
Width of bronze pedestal, six feet, nine inches. 
Distance from top of plinth to saddle girth, six 
feet, four inches. 

The total cost of the monument was >;2()(),0(»ll. 
The Clay Statue. 

The marble statue of Hknkv Cl.w, by Joel T. 
Hart (born in Kentucky, 1810, died in Flor- 
ence, 1877), was erected by the " Ladies Clay 
Association," April 12, 1860 — the anniversary of 
his birth. Hon. B. Johnson Barbour delivered 
a highly classical and eloquent address of dedi- 
cation, the o])ening paragraphs of whicli wi'i'e 
as follows : 

"(ienius and ])atriotisni have always fonnd 
their truest and purest human reward in the love 
and sympathy of AVoman. History tells us that 
the women of Athens were accustomed to t'rowu 
Pericles with garlands after a successful oration. 
AVe remember that the daughters of England 
raised a commemorative statue to Wellington, 
composed of the captured cannon of his splen- 
did victories ; and Southern matrons and South- 
ern maidens * *- * have rescued ^Moiuit 
Vernon from dilapidation and decay and made 
it the trystiug spot of the nation. 

" In ])eautiful accordance with these exam- 
I)les, the women of A'irgiiua are about to wit- 
ness tlie full realization of their efi'orts to honor 
a great and fearless patriot — eloquent as Pi-ricles 



22 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



brave as Wt'Uinjiton, and iK-xt to "Washington, 
the tbreniost man of all our (."ountry." 

TIk' climax can hardly bo said to be the ver- 
dict t>f posterity, but few men inspired greater 
veneration from their coutenijMjraries than did 
Henry Clay — the IJiclimond Exambier, of the 
date of this dedication, speaking of him, a 
political advt'rsary all his lifetim.', in tiiese 
words: "8ucii was the truly democratic mould 
in which Henry Clay was cast, that he might 
be said to hiild the ])at('nt of liis nubility from 
Cod alone." 

At one time tlie statue had to ht' I'emoved to 
the Rotunda because of repeated nmtiiations 
by bad l)oys — to the extent even of breaking oti" 
one of its hands. This, however, through the 
earnest efforts of his lifelong admirer and friend. 
Dr. Uriel Terrell, while a mendjer of the Legis- 
lature from Orange county, has been arti.-tically 
restored, and during the administration of Cov- 
ernor Fitzhugh Lee it was replaced on its former 
site in the Square. 

Cotemporaries of Mr. Clay pronounce it a life- 
like reproduction of its original. 

The Jackson Statue. 

This statue is sutticiently identified to the 
public by the inscription on the pedestal : 

Presented by English (ientlemen 

As a Tribute of Admiration for 

The Soldier and Patriot 

THOMAS .1. .lACKSON. 

And gratefully accejjfed by N'irgiuia 

Li the name of the Southern People. 

Done A. D. ISTo. 

\\\ the oni' hundreth vear of the Common wealh. 

" Look! there is Jackson standing like a 
stonewall." 

It isl)y Foley— born, Dublin, ISlS, dicil bS74— 
who also designed the Seal of the Confederate 
States — and was erected Octol)er L'li, bS7o, duriiy; 
the administration of (Jovernor Kemi)er. Rev. 
Moses D. Hoge, D. D., of this city, delivered a 
magnificant oration at the unveiling, and the 
survivors of the old "Stonewall Brigade" at- 
tended in a body, together witii a great number 
of people eminent as civilians or soldieis in tlu' 
days of the Southern Confederacy. 

Old soldiers of his say the statue is by far the 
best rei)roduction of him extant, and nuudi 
more like him than any of tiie numi'mus ])or- 
traits or engravings. 



The Old Bell House. 

In 17!)0 the Directors of the Public Buildings 
were authorized to " purchase at the ])ublic ex- 
pense a tit and sutficient liell fbi' tin- use of the 
Capitol." This bell was hung in a small, 
wooden, unpainted building that stood inune- 
diately in front of the portico of the Capitol. 
When it was taken down nobody living knows. 

Near the site of the tower now known as the 
Bell Hou.se stood a nuich more ancient l)uilding, 
concerning which tlu* following enactment was 
pas.sed in March, 1S24 : "That the Executive 
be, and they are hereby authorized to have the 
house, connnonly called the Barracks, now 
standing on the southwest corni'r of the capitol 
squar(% sold at |)ublic auction, and to have a 
small tw(j-st(jried house, with a cupola for a bell, 
not exceeding twenty feet sipiare, erected, for 
the acconniiodafion of the guard statioiuMl for 
the protection of the Capitol, on or near the site 
of the said barracks." 

The present structure, while not to be com- 
mended for its architecture, is always affection- 
ately called the " Old Bell Home'' by the " old 
Richmond boys," and it is consecrated in their 
memories of the trying times from 181)1 to 18(55 
as is no other object connected with the Con- 
federacy. The bell was then, indeed, an 
Alarum Bell — a very Tocsin of war I Whenever 
its welbknown peal rang out — three quick taps 
and an interval — whether by day or night, the 
rallying hosts of soldiers and citizens, old men 
and boys, rushed with a common impulse to 
the rendezvous appointed, with the rc-^olution 
of stout hearts for the defence of the city. 

"Thenuisterings(iuadron, and tiie clattering car, 
Went pouring forward with impetuous speed. 
And swiftly forming in the ranks of war; 
* * -;<- -X- -;<- w * 

.\nd near the beat of the alarming drum, 
Roused uj) the soldiers ere the morning star; 
While thronged the citizeui', with terror duml). 
Or whispering, with white lips, 'The foe I They 
come I They come I ' " 

So writes the poet, of Brus.sels and her i)eople, 
in his description of Waterloo. Unlike Brussels, 
there was no "dumb tei'ror," norany " wlusper- 
ing with white lijis" in Richmond till "Hope 
for a season ))a(le the woi'ld farewell," \\ lieu the 
city was evacuated and the conflagration began. 

On the day still reniend)ered as " Pawnee Sun- 
day," when tidings came that the Federal gun- 
boat " Pawnee " had passed the obstructions in 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



23 



the river and was fast approaching the city, the 
old bell clattered its "alarum " as never before, 
during the hours of divine service. Instantly 
the congregations rushed fnjm the churches, 
becoming the "church militant" indeed; and 
every weapon of defence in Richmond was soon 
in eager and valiant hands. The "rally" was 
to the Old Bell House, every ' ' coign of vantage ' ' 
was occupied, and had the " Pawnee ' ' appeared 
and its crew ventured ashore, they would have 
realized the meaning of our much c|Uoted war- 
time lines, the "welcome of bloody hands to 
hospitable graves." 



Tradition says that the old bell also rang an 
alarum at the time of the " Nat Turner" insur- 
rection. 

The modern school of iconoclasts would 
destnjy this old tower for " reasons jnirely 
a'sthetical." As long as time will let it stand, 
it ought to be held sacred by the people of the 
South. Rather restore it by replacing the finial 
over the belfry ; and have some English ivy or 
Virginia creeper twine about the old walls as an 
emblem of how green it should ever remain in 
the memory of Virginians. "Touch not Sagun- 
tum I " 



dr. l^i/ 




